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Domestication of Whelplings
Domesticated Faux Dragons reach much larger sizes than those in the wild. A typical wild Green whelp will only reach the size of a small cat where as a domesticated whelp of the same color will reach the size of a March Hound with proper diet. 'History' Green and Blue Whelps are commonly domesticated as winged messengers - able to carry letters and small items in leather cases strapped onto their backs between their wings. Blues are good for long-distance flight because of their increased wing-span. Greens are prized as personal messengers as they possess a keener sense of smell and can pick out individuals to deliver a message rather than simply flying to a building (like a blue). Because of this many of the Priories and temples of Gizad will have a special tower to house the whelps that are used to transport messages. This tower is called the Azure Tower (as blue whelps are often used for long-distance messages). See also: Messenger Whelp 'From the Wild' There are two ways of securing a faux dragon pet from the wild; either as a hatchling or as an egg. Faux Dragon hatchlings can be domesticated if caught and tamed within the first four weeks of life; essentially before their first flight. This usually means that one must find them still in the nest or freshly hatched. This is the most difficult of collection due to the fact that the faux dragon hatchling will think you're a predator and sound a warning to the nearby Troop. This means that you could have up to a dozen faux dragons attacking you with their sharp claws or breathing fire down your back as you attempt to climb down a tree with a squirming hatchling in your arm. Another, more common method, is to steal faux dragon eggs. There is a slight problem with this method as well. You must wait until the eggs have hardens before taking them. Eggs, when freshly laid, are still leathery. The eggs still need the warmth of the parent to assist in their incubation. Only once the eggs have hardened, in about two week's time, can you successfully steal the egg and have it hatch. Once stolen, the egg will need to be placed in a surrogate nest and kept warm. This can be done with either a blanket or perhaps even keeping it near the hearth. The heat should be kept as constant as possible. It doesn't have to be blazingly hot - just warm. It is thought that if the temperature varies too often the faux dragon will hatch as a male; if it is maintained it will be female. Many Priories will buy faux dragon eggs from those who are brave enough to steal them. The occasional wild faux dragon will help maintain the strength of a priory's colony. 'Training' Faux Dragon droppings are foul. Because of their diet and their digestive track the pellet-like droppings left by faux dragons are some of the most pungent left by any animal. Because of this, most who chose to domesticate a Faux Dragon will need to clean out their nest box at least twice daily. After about a month they can start to be window-trained. Window-training is essential for anyone wishing to keep a Faux Dragon as a domesticated pet. Essentially the creature is trained to go to the window ledge and leave their droppings outside. Once they begin flying at about two months, this is a much easier skill to train as they will instinctively leave their nest to leave their droppings. 'Nesting' All Faux Dragons have an instinctual need to nest. Where and how they do this varies depending on their type. When domesticating whelplings, it is often best to give them a nest of their own rather than leave them to create one out of spare bits. To this end, owners of Faux Dragons will hang nesting boxes in their rooms. Nesting boxes are a simple wooden box with a large hole cut out of the front with a lid at the top. The box is twice as large as the whelpling to allow for their growth and their wings and tail. Only Black Whelplings will use their nest boxes past maturity as they're the smallest of their kind. Greens, once to maturity at one year, are generally too large to fit within a box on a wall and will often take to using a large, covered, basket. Category:Faux Dragon